Duffy: No better role model than Dad

NEW YORK -- Now we know where Rays third baseman Matt Duffy gets his work ethic from. It comes from his father, Tom, who taught him to work hard, be smart in his decisions and take responsibility for his actions.

"I couldn't ask for a better role model to guide me through life," Duffy said about his father.

NEW YORK -- Now we know where Rays third baseman Matt Duffy gets his work ethic from. It comes from his father, Tom, who taught him to work hard, be smart in his decisions and take responsibility for his actions.

"I couldn't ask for a better role model to guide me through life," Duffy said about his father.

Duffy is making Tom proud. Take the four-game series against the Yankees this weekend: Duffy went 6-for-15 with two home runs and four RBIs. On Sunday, he drove in two runs off CC Sabathia by hitting the ball to right field for a single.

During that at-bat, he thought about his father, who told him recently that he was pulling the ball too often.

"A lot of times, he has his ideas of how I should be hitting," Duffy said. "Today he was talking to me about those pitches down and in. He said, 'You used to hit them for line drives. I feel like you are rolling them over.' So I hit a down-and-in pitch for a line drive. I started laughing. I thought, he is smart. He knows what he is talking about. I won't tell him to his face."

Father's Day wraps up MLB's annual Prostate Cancer Foundation Home Run Challenge, which gives fans across the league the opportunity to make a one-time donation for every home run hit by their favorite MLB team from June 1-17. Every dollar donated from the Home Run Challenge goes directly to the Prostate Cancer Foundation to aid cancer research.

Bill Ladson has been a reporter for MLB.com since 2002. He covered the Nationals/Expos from 2002-2016. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.